PlayStation 3 owners who hopped online to snag the new PlayStation Network title, Pain, might have noticed a few issues. You're not alone -- I experienced issues, too. Two characters (a creepy looking Santa, and the scantily clad female, Cookie) wouldn't load for instance, giving me an error message which told me to re-download and install Pain to correct the problem (that didn't work).

It's because of these problems, as well as issues with the online leaderboards (there were none) and a broken video on the community, that Pain has been removed from the PlayStation Store. But never fear, the problems are being fixed, and the game should be placed back online shortly.

"It is something that should be working today," said Scott Groyl, PR specialist with Sony Computer Entertainment.

And I can't wait either -- I spent some time with the game last night, and its premise of using a slingshot to launch a character into things and racking up score based on damage is intriguing. Think Burnout's crash mode ... just with a person. I just wish that person was wearing less clothing, so I'm glad they're working hard to fix this problem. 

[Via IGN] 

[Update: Contrary to prior reports, Scott Groyl has contacted us to clarify -- Pain has NOT been removed from the PlayStation Store. 

"Pain has never been taking down from PSN," Groyl told us in an e-mail.  "If a player purchases PAIN, it no longer appears on the storefront to prevent a double-purchase.  A media outlet this morning inaccurately reported that the game was no longer available and had been take down from the site (when in fact, it wasn't there because he had already purchased it).  PAIN is available on PSN and has been since launch yesterday."

Sorry for any confusion we might have caused. PlayStation 3 owners, feel free to get your Pain on.]